WELCOME-GP
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Writing to Encourage Late Consultation Outpatients to Make Engagement with their GP
IRAS ID
201992
Contact name
Sally Burtles
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Queen Mary University of London
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN95610478
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 7 months, 29 days
Research summary
Background: Cancer survival in England is below the European average and recent research suggests that this is at least in part because of higher mortality among those diagnosed with cancer in England in the first year after diagnosis. In England, patients that first present with cancer as an emergency are more likely to present with late-stage cancer, they also experience higher short term mortality when compared with those that present with cancer via other routes (such as primary care).
Objective: To determine the effect of a personal letter and cancer awareness leaflet (sent from one's general practitioner) on primary care consultations in twenty general practices among adults who rarely use primary care and who are at risk of late presentation of cancer.
Methods: 1400 patients with no diagnosis of cancer but at risk or late presentation of cancer will be recruited to this randomised control trial from twenty general practices (seventy patients per practice) in England. These patients will be randomly assigned to either receive the intervention (the personal letter and cancer awareness leaflet) and normal care or not to receive the intervention but to still receive normal care. Following administration of the intervention the number and type of consultations (as recorded on general practice records) for each patient will be evaluated over a six-month period. The primary objective will be to identify whether the intervention promotes re-engagement with primary care and the secondary objective will be to identify how many consultations, investigations, referrals and diagnoses would be generated in primary care if the intervention was adopted as policy.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 3
REC reference
16/WS/0110
Date of REC Opinion
14 Jun 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion